More Than We Have Seen
Mark 4:26-34[1]
We’re fortunate to live here, because we are
constantly surrounded by the beauty of nature. I mentioned that to some of you the
first month I was here while we were harvesting grapes at the Hoge’s. After
spending 30 years living in major cities surrounding by too much steel and
concrete, spending an evening in a vineyard surrounded by cornfields was like
balm to my soul! We are fortunate in that we get to witness the miracle of life
every year. Seeds are planted, they put out green shoots eager to grow, and
then they produce their “fruit”—whether it’s ears of corn or heads of wheat or
pods with beans. I feel truly fortunate to be able to witness that every year.
Because it happens every year, we can take it for
granted. Just like the sun “coming up” every day, we may tend to forget what a
wonderfully intricate system of life surrounds and supports us. When you stop
to think about it, how a single seed transforms into “first the stalk, then the
head, then the full grain in the head” (Mk 4:28) is truly amazing! We may be
able to spell out how that happens scientifically, but it doesn’t change the
fact that we’re witnessing the miracle of life all around us! Again, I consider
myself fortunate to live in a place where I am surrounded by this natural
wonder.
In our Gospel lesson for today, we see something of
this wonder in what God is doing in our world. Both parables Jesus used compare
God’s “kingdom” or God’s “reign” with the way seeds grow. And in both parables
we see something of the rather “understated” and “unexpected” nature of what
God is doing in the world. In the first parable, the kingdom of God is compared
to someone who “would scatter seed on the ground” (Mk 4:26). I think it’s hard
not to notice the lack of effort on the part of this sower of seeds: there is
no mention of cultivating or tending the seed. Rather the seed “sprouts and
grows” but the sower “does not know how” (Mk 4:27). The idea is that the seed
produces fruit on its own, in some respects unseen even by those who plant it:
“first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head” (Mk. 4:28).
The next parable is about a mustard seed. The point
of this parable is the contrast between the beginning and the end. Jesus says
that the mustard seed is “the smallest of all the seeds on earth” (Mk. 4:31),
but when it grows up “it becomes the greatest of all shrubs” (Mk 4:32). Jesus is
not making scientific observations about plant biology here. He’s making the
point that the mustard seed is tiny in comparison with the plant that grows
from it. In the same way, the beginnings of the Kingdom may be unimpressive. In
fact they may even be surprisingly understated in comparison with traditional
Jewish expectations, but the end result is equally surprising in the scope and
breadth and extent of the transformation it brings about.
I think we’re meant to see a couple of important
ideas in these parables. First, the kingdom of God does its own work. When
Jesus proclaimed “the good news” that “the Kingdom of God has come near” (Mk
1:14-15), he was “scattering” the seed, the message of the gospel. That message
is like a seed that bears fruit “on its own” in the hearts and lives of those
who receive it. And this happens oftentimes without our even being aware of it.
For most of us, the only way we can really see what God is doing in our lives
is if we look back over the years. In the moment, it can seem difficult if not
impossible to “see” what God is doing in our lives.
Second, the work that God is doing in this world is
surprisingly understated. That was true in Jesus’ ministry, so much so that it
was easy for many of his contemporaries to miss it. They expected the one
bringing the kingdom of God to come into Jerusalem riding on a white horse, to
ascend the throne of David, to lead the armies of Israel in throwing off the
yoke of their enemies, and to reinstate the kingdom of Israel under David and
Solomon. That’s not what Jesus came to do! He had a much bigger vision for
God’s kingdom: transforming the hearts and lives of people to the extent that
God’s justice, peace, and freedom would define all life in this world! But that
is a transformation that takes place in a very different way than we might
expect.
What God is doing in this world can be
frustratingly invisible. Unfortunately, that makes it easy to try to take
matters into our own hands. It’s difficult for us to go on sowing Gospel seeds,
waiting patiently for the harvest, leaving the outcome seemingly to chance and
luck, with no guarantees but the promise of faith and hope. Many who genuinely
want to promote God’s kingdom in our world try to ensure the success of the
Gospel by any and every means. But God’s ways are different from our ways. In
my view, that means that if we truly want to sow the seeds of the justice and
peace and freedom of God’s kingdom, we have to adopt the means that are
consistent with that kingdom.
The unseen and sometimes understated ways in which
God works in our world challenge us all, but Jesus encourages us to wait in
faith and hope for the Gospel seeds to bear fruit. He reminds us that despite
all indications to the contrary, God’s Kingdom of justice and peace and freedom
is here; it is real among us now. And one day God’s kingdom will define all
life in this world, just as surely as the seed produces “first the stalk, then
the head, then the full grain in the head.” We may not always be able to see
it, but what God is doing in this world is more than we have yet seen![2]
[1] ©2021 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan
Brehm, Ph. D. on 6/13/2021 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2] See “A
Declaration of Faith,” Presbyterian Church in the United States, 117th General
Assembly (1977); reissued by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 1991: “In the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus God kept his promises. All that we can ever
hope for was present in Christ. But the work of God in Christ is not over. God
calls us to hope for more than we have yet seen.”
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